Nokias
Risky Move

Some tech analysts are
skeptical about the move.
Independent analyst Jack
Gold told eWEEK he sees the partnership as a pact between two needy companies,
rather than an alliance of strong players in the industry.

"Both of them need each
other for credibility," Gold said, adding that Microsoft needs Nokia to build
devices in volume; Nokia needs a serious OS. "But it's not clear either
partner will get what it wants out of this," he said. "And I'm not sure
customers of current Nokia will be very happy, leaving an opening for loyal
Nokia users to move to other platforms (such as Android, iPhone or even
Blackberry)."

Current Analysis analyst Avi
Greengart told eWEEK it's hard to understate the risk. "Nokia is betting
its future here, and will need to transform into a very different-and in some
ways less ambitious-company."
That is, a company beholden
to WP7. This is a platform that, while technically sound and eye-pleasing, is
unproven and untested in a market where Apple iOS and Android have been
shipping iPhones and Droids and Galaxy S devices, respectively, like hotcakes.
Not everyone is so bearish
on the pact. IDC analyst Kevin Restivo told eWEEK Nokia is still the No. 1
smartphone maker, despite its struggles with execution and building a modern
smartphone platform to compete with Android and iOS.
With Elop as a longtime
Microsoft employee, Nokia can forge a tighter bond than it could with the
open-source Android platform, where relationships lend themselves to
freestyling.
Microsoft and Nokia will
put joint marketing and research and development into the mix so that each
company has "real skin in the game" to make and sell quality
handsets, Restivo said.
Consumers just need to buy
them. With Android showing no sign of slowing and Apple's iPhone now on
Verizon, this will certainly be a challenge.
Of course, the best move
Nokia and Elop may have made is to ensure the deal is non-exclusive. If Windows
Phone 7 doesn't work out, there's always Android.